Light, Sound, & Time

How do you sense the world? In Light, Sound, & Time, you will dive deep into your surroundings and how you perceive the world. You will focus on how humans experience light, sound and time. Then, you consider the bigger picture: how do these concepts function regardless of human interaction? You will build a camera, musical instrument, and time-telling device, and explain their functionality through the languages of math and science.

Course Units

What would life look like without light?

Why?

In this unit you will focus on light, illuminating the answers to questions like: What is light? How does it travel? How fast does it travel? How do we perceive light? How do we capture it? And how do we create light-capturing devices?

What does life sound like?

In this unit you will look deeper into sounds, and investigate these questions: What is sound? How does it travel? How fast does it travel? How do we hear sounds? How do we make sounds? And how do we control sounds?

How does time flow from the Big Bang to the Big Ben?

In this unit you will investigate how a sundial embodies principles of trigonometry, a pendulum reveals the concepts of circles, and geographic coordinates structure time around the globe. Externally, you will explore how different cultures tell time through light & sound. Finally, you will create your own prototype of a time-telling device, show your model, prove the principles, & explain its purpose.